Franklin police arrest teens in connection to homemade bombs

Created 06/21/2011 - 4:13pm

Police in Franklin have arrested four teenagers suspected of allegedly placing 13 homemade explosive devices in the Polk Place subdivision Monday evening.

The four teens, whose ages rang from 14 to 16, face aggravated assault and reckless endangerment charges after one of the devices (plastic bottles filled with household chemicals) exploded in the hands of a Polk Place Drive resident.

Shortly before 9 p.m. Monday, Franklin police and fire personnel responded to the 200 block of Polk Place Drive off of Mack Hatcher Memorial Parkway after the resident answered his doorbell to find what he thought was trash on his front steps, according to Franklin police. The bottle, however, exploded when he took it inside to dispose of it.

The man was transported to a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries but is now recovering at home.

The teens were in the custody of the Williamson County Juvenile Services.

Emergency responders later found a total of 13 similar devices left on the front porches of five different homes in the Polk Place subdivision. All but one detonated on their own, and a Tennessee Highway Patrol bomb squad responded to detonate it.

Franklin police warned anyone who finds a suspicious bottle to leave it alone, clear people away from it and call 9-1-1.